Waterproofing

 Today was an exciting day at the new house next door. This morning I met June, of Hudson Valley Rubber-Wall; it's always great to see another woman on the construction site! She and her assistant sealed the exterior face of the concrete foundation wall with a rubber coating. Concrete is very absorptive, and when located underground, it can wick up moisture, so we apply a barrier that helps prevent water migration from the ground into the wall (and into the building). In the past, this barrier would be made of asphalt that was sort of painted on thick and messy, but spray-applied rubber is a much greener and more sophisticated approach. (literally green, too!)

After daubing at the clip spots and then spraying the entire surface of the walls, they applied 2" exterior rigid insulation to the outside of the foundation wall. This is also exciting to me because I detailed this house to have a super-insulated "building envelope" (the line between conditioned - or heated - and unconditioned space). It used to be that basements and attics were left "unconditioned" - it is that way in my house. But smart, modern detailing includes the basement, crawlspace, and attic within the building envelope. This allows for the insulation and air barriers to follow the exterior surfaces (rather than a house that, for instance, has insulation in the ceiling of the basement, trying to separate that space from the heated space above, without success). Much smarter for many reasons that we will discuss in the coming months.

2" thick R-10 foam